


Take A Chance On Me

by AbschaumNo1



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Seabs is a TA, Shawzy is a student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-15 06:16:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17523452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbschaumNo1/pseuds/AbschaumNo1
Summary: It took Andrew all of five minutes while walking from his first lecture to where he was meeting Saader to dig up everything he could find on Brent.In which Brent is a TA for one of Andrew's courses and they fall in love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Helloooo, it's me again!
> 
> So I've been meaning to write this for a while now, and finally managed to do it! And I gotta admit that I'm actually pretty excited about this one.
> 
> And well, most of my university experience was in the UK, so if anything doesn't hold up for a Northern American setting, I'm sorry.
> 
> Title from 'Take a chance on me' by ABBA.

Andrew had expected a lot from his college experience, but the one thing he hadn't expected was the hot TA in his Queer Lit class.

His name was Brent Seabrook, he was five years older than Andrew, used to play hockey, and was writing his dissertation on reading classical literature as queer. Andrew found out most of that in the five minutes it took him to walk from his first lecture to where he was meeting up with Saader. And yes, maybe that was a little stalkerish, but Andrew couldn't help it. Brent was hot and Andrew kind of needed to know more. It wasn't like he was gonna do anything. Hell, he'd be over the moon if Brent even looked his way.

Andrew was realistic enough about himself that he knew that a guy like Brent Seabrook did not get interested in a guy like Andrew Shaw. It just didn't happen. And that wasn't even taking into account that it shouldn't happen since Brent was a TA and Andrew a student. He could look, but not touch.

 

Things got worse when Andrew realized that Brent was really good at what he did. And well, Andrew had never doubted that, but it was something else entirely to see it. Andrew was helpless.

Andrew bemoaned his fate when he was out drinking with the guys the following weekend.

“It's just...it's just not fair,” he said. “It's not like anything can happen, but he's still there being all...hot and competent and amazing.”

“Sounds like real hardship,” Saader said clearly laughing at him. “Getting to see the hot TA every time you have your course.”

“It's not the seeing part that's the problem.” Andrew rolled his eyes. “It's the part where that's all that can and will ever happen.”

“You don't know that it will never happen.”

Andrew raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure,” he said, “The hot TA is totally gonna look my way and will absolutely decide to go for it.”

“You never know.” Saader shrugged.

Andrew snorted, but before anyone could say anything more the door of the bar opened and a group of guys came in. It was probably a bit embarrassing that Andrew immediately honed in on Brent’s laugh, but he couldn't help it.

“Oh no,” he said. “And now he's here and I don't even get to drown my sorrows without him.”

“Huh?” Saader turned in his seat to take a look. “You didn't say that he's friends with Jonny,” he said when he turned back.

“Wait. Which one is Jonny?”

“Tall, dark hair, next to the guy with the blond curls. That's Kaner by the way. He does statistics.”

“The one next to him is Duncan Keith, he's in criminal psychology,” Leddy said.

“And the handsome one is Patrick Sharp, I think. No idea what his field is, but he won some Most Beautiful guy on campus thing,” Bollig added.

Brent and his friends found a booth on the other side of the room, and Andrew pulled himself together so he didn't stare. He allowed himself casual glances every once in a while, nothing more, but judging by the amused looks on his friends’ faces he still wasn't very subtle about it. Sue him though, he couldn't help it, he liked Brent's face and there was nothing wrong with looking.

 

He was over at the bar, getting another round of drinks, and maybe hoping to flirt a little with the bartender when someone took up the empty space next to him. When he looked over out of reflex, it was Brent standing next to him.

He caught Andrew looking and smiled. “Hey,” he said, “Andrew right?”

“Yeah,” Andrew replied lamely. He was a little surprised that Brent knew his name if he was honest. The Queer Lit course wasn't the largest maybe, but there were enough students that Andrew didn't expect him to.

“You like the course?”

Andrew grinned. “I do. It was one of the reasons I wanted to come here for college actually.”

Brent laughed. “Wow, you've really thought ahead, haven't you?”

“I guess.” Andrew shrugged. “I've just known since I was in high school that it's a field that interests me and that I'd like to go in that direction if I can.”

Brent looked a little surprised, but before he could say anything the bartender was there and Andrew finally got to order the beers he was after. He paid and grabbed the bottles off the counter and turned to say goodbye to Brent.

“If you ever want to talk about what we do or need some pointers feel free to ask. My email’s on the syllabus,” Brent said before Andrew could even open his mouth.

“Thanks.”

“Cool.” Brent smiled, and god, Andrew had it so bad. “I'll see you around.”

“Yeah, I'll see you around.” Andrew raised his hand in a little awkward goodbye wave and quickly went back to his friends.

“Still think it's never gonna happen?” Bollig asked with a smirk as soon as Andrew had sat down again.

Andrew rolled his eyes at him. “He just asked how I like the course and offered his help if I've got any questions. It’s just academic help, nothing more.”

“Academic help,” Bollig repeated with a grin. “Is that what they call it these days?”

Andrew could only groan.

 

The next time Andrew talked to Brent was after he accidentally collided with him on campus. It was not Andrew’s most brilliant moment. He had been in a hurry and had just checked his phone to see where exactly his next lecture was supposed to be when he had collided with someone. He had only realised it was Brent when he looked up to say sorry.

There was an amused twinkle in Brent’s eyes when he asked, “You okay there?”

“Yeah,” Andrew said. “Sorry, I should have checked where I was going.”

“It’s fine. We’ve all been there.” Brent was still smiling, and only when he bent down to help him pick up his things, Andrew realised that they weren’t in his hands anymore. He quickly moved to help him.

“Thanks man,” he said when he took the last of his books from Brent. “I’d stay to chat, but I got a lecture to get to and I’m running late.”

“Who’s it with?”

“Julien, why?”

Brent checked his watch. “I wouldn’t risk that. You most likely won’t make it in time and Claude hates it when people are late.”

“Shouldn’t you be telling me to get going and go anyways?” Andrew raised an eyebrow.

“I should. But I also know it’s really not worth the dressing down he’s gonna give you,” Brent said with a laugh. “If it makes you feel better, I was on my way to grab some coffee. You could come along and we can talk about whatever book you’re reading in Claude’s course this week.”

Andrew eyed him for a second, but then he shrugged. “You’re right. The dressing down isn’t worth it. Coffee seems like the better alternative.”

“Good choice.” Brent grinned. “Then let’s go.”

 

Ten minutes later they were waiting for their coffee in one of the cafes on campus. Brent had just insisted on paying for Andrew’s coffee as well, even at Andrew’s protest.

“Come on, it’s free coffee. Don’t tell me you want to pass up a chance for free coffee,” Brent said with a small grin.

Andrew laughed. “Okay, you got me there.”

“You can buy next time if you really want to.”

And wow. Andrew had thought this would be a one off; that Brent was just being friendly this one time, because they had happened to run into each other. But here he was, telling Andrew that there was a chance to get coffee together again. It definitely made things more interesting.

But Andrew didn’t have time to figure out what it could possibly mean or not mean, and so all he said was, “Okay.”

Their coffees were finished then, and Brent lead the way to a table tucked away in a corner.

For a moment Andrew wasn’t quite sure how to start, but then Brent asked what they were supposed to talk about this week and it didn’t take long for them to be deep into a discussion about Victorian literature.

 

Somehow they kept running into each other. There was the queer lit course of course, but outside of that as well. The day after they had coffee together, they saw each other in the library. Two days later Andrew went to talk to Jeremy about something and met Brent in the hallway outside Jeremy’s office. On Friday afternoon Brent walked past as Andrew was hanging out with the guys on the lawn outside the library, and called a quick hello, before he disappeared into the library building. And it kept going on like that. It wasn’t like they exchanged more than a few words during those encounters, but Brent always seemed genuinely happy to see Andrew.

It was unfair, really. Because Andrew _wanted_ and he knew he couldn’t get, but with every interaction he had with Brent, he couldn’t help but want a bit more than before.

 

His next chance to speak to Brent was, ironically, at the same bar where they had talked for the first time. Andrew was once again waiting to get a new round of drinks, and just like last time, Brent came up and took up the empty space next to Andrew.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Andrew said with a grin.

Brent laughed. “I guess I could say the same about you.”

He looked relaxed, and Andrew was tipsy enough to feel braver than he was, so he said, “We gotta keep meeting like this.”

It was vague enough that they could play it off as a joke, if Brent wasn’t interested, and Andrew could see him work through that before he smiled warmly.

“Well,” he said, “I like to get coffee on Tuesdays at three, you might want to join me sometime.”

“I’ll have to check my schedule, but I might be free.” Brent smiled again, something soft and butterfly-inducing, and said, “Great. Then I’ll hope to see you on Tuesday.”

Andrew smiled back and Brent turned to go back to the table he shared with his friends, his hand brushing against Andrew’s. It was tempting to move his fingers and hook his pink around Brent’s even for the slightest moment. If the twitch of Brent’s fingers was any indication he wasn’t the only one.

On Tuesday morning Andrew spent far too much time in front of his closet, desperately trying to figure out what to wear. He didn’t want to look like he was trying too hard, especially if they were on campus and should at least have plausible deniability. But he at least wanted to look like he was trying a little, so the same old ratty hoodie he wore to lectures when he couldn’t be bothered wouldn’t do either.

He was still pondering his choices when Saader came back from the shower.

He took one look at Andrew and said, “Wear the dark blue hoodie. It’s new enough to look like you made a bit of an effort, but it’s also normal enough for you to wear that it won’t be too obvious what you’re doing.”

Andrew thought about it for a second, but Saader was right, and so he grabbed the hoodie and slipped it over his head. He had a lecture to get to anyways.

 

He was a bit early at the coffee shop, so he decided to wait outside. He had been nervous all day though so maybe this wasn’t the best idea, because this way he got to think and he started to freak out a little.

 _‘This was a bad idea.’_ he texted Saader.

_‘Why?’_

_‘I don’t know anything abt him outside of class. What r we even gonna talk abt?’_

_‘There’s always the weather.’_

_‘I’m not talking to him abt the weather. How lame is tht?’_

_‘It’ll be fine, Shawzy. He doesn’t know anything about you either.’_

_‘Still!’_

_‘I’m sure you’ll come up with something.’_

_‘But what if we don’t? Or what if there’s nothing to talk abt??’_

_‘You both like books, don’t you?’_

_‘Well, I’d think so.’_

_‘See? There’s a topic for you.’_

Andrew had to laugh, but before he could type out a reply, Brent was there and he had much better things to focus on.

 

Brent was wearing his usual plaid over white shirt and jeans combo, but he had definitely taken more care with his hair in the morning, because it looked even better than usual. It wasn’t like Andrew kept track of Brent’s hair, but he had had dreams about running his fingers through it and what it would feel like and how it would look in all kinds of situations. And okay, so maybe Andrew _had_ thought about Brent’s hair. Maybe even a lot. Brent had amazing hair, it was only natural.

He was smiling softly, happy, and for a moment Andrew was a bit giddy with the thought that he was the reason for that smile.

“Hey,” he said with a smile of his own.

“Hey. Wanna go in?”

Andrew nodded. “I’m paying this time though,” he said quickly.

Brent laughed, clearly remembering their conversation the last time they had been here together.

“Then lead the way,” he said, eyes still twinkling. He held the door open for Andrew, who ignored the sudden flare of nerves and let the way towards the counter.

It turned out that talking to Brent was easier than Andrew had feared. They started out talking about Andrew’s classes, but they moved on quickly to other topics.

And they definitely didn’t have to talk about the weather.

Andrew learned several things: Brent was from British Columbia; he quit hockey because balancing that with being gay didn’t feel worth it. He had started reading instead, which had gotten him where he was now.

They shared a laugh when Andrew explained that his own path hadn’t looked all that differently, and they threw around the idea of going to see the college team play some time.

They exchanged phone numbers, but didn’t make any plans for when to meet up next. One step at a time, Andrew thought to himself. They shouldn’t rush into things. Not if they didn’t want to fuck things up spectacularly for both of them.

 

They started texting, small things mostly, updates on their days, the occasional comment on his classes from Andrew, photos of funny things they saw. They were still getting to know each other properly, and Andrew would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy himself a lot.

It was Friday a few weeks after their first date when Andrew got a text from Brent that said _‘Duncs just cancelled movie night because he’s ill :(’_

Andrew looked at it for a moment, considering what to reply. It wasn’t like he had any plans this evening, except starting on one of the essays he’d have to hand in in the next couple weeks, and if Brent told him about the cancelled plans already…

_‘I’m not Duncs, but I got no plans.’_

_‘Want to come over for take-out and a movie?’_

Andrew smiled at his phone.

_‘Sure, why not. Just text me your address and I’ll come over.’_

He only got a smiley face back, followed by Brent’s address.

Saader was out for date night with Leddy, so Andrew just left him a note in case he got back before Andrew did, and headed out.

Brent was in sweatpants and an old Canucks shirt when he opened the door; that soft, warm smile on his face that Andrew saw a lot these days when they met each other on campus. Andrew was glad he hadn’t bothered to change. Take-out and a movie just hadn’t really seemed like it required jeans.

Brent pointed the bathroom out to him as he led Andrew to the kitchenette in the corner of the big living room, and offered him a beer. There was already a small stack of take-away menus on the counter.

They ordered pizza and queued up some action movie and chatted while they waited for the food to arrive.

Brent’s couch wasn’t particularly large, so they sat next to each other, far enough away that they weren’t all up in each other’s spaces, but close enough that their knees touched. And it wasn’t like knees touching was all that much, but Andrew couldn’t help but feel thrilled. It was probably the closest they had been since they had met

When they had finished eating, both of them leaned back into the cushions. And it wasn’t like they had to pretend anything here, but Brent still did the whole stretching and casually resting his arm on the backrest behind Andrew routine. Andrew shot him a look and snickered at how he pretended to be innocent. Brent’s lips curled into an amused smile of his own, followed by surprise and then fondness, when Andrew moved closer towards him and leaned into his side. He wrapped his arm around Andrew’s shoulders and god, they were so close, and Andrew was so comfortable, and he really kind of wanted to kiss Brent right now. But no, they were going slow about this, it was no use stopping with that now. Besides, they didn’t need to kiss for this to be a great evening.

 

Saader was still gone when Andrew came back to their dorm room later that night, and he was kind of glad about it. As much as he had enjoyed the evening with Brent, he wasn’t sure if he was quite ready to talk about how they had spent the evening with pizza and cuddling on Brent’s couch.

The memory carried him through the weekend and into the next week. It was a good memory, and Andrew wouldn’t want to give it up for anything. But at the same time he couldn’t help but worry about how far gone he was for Brent. He was sure they would make it work, but there was a voice at the back of his mind that told him that he couldn’t know that, that any number of things could happen to end this whole thing. He ignored it, but that didn’t make it go away.

That Wednesday he ran into Brent at the library. They had texted more than usual all through the weekend and up to today, but they hadn’t managed to find a time and place for another date. Even this meeting was just a coincidence.

Brent smiled at Andrew when he saw him, and looked around before he reached out and quickly squeezed his hand. It wasn’t much, but Andrew got it.

They talked about the essay Andrew was writing and then all of a sudden Brent asked, “Hey you got anywhere to be?”

“Not really, no,” Andrew said.

Brent smiled. “Meet me over in the corner where the classics are in five then?”

Andrew raised an eyebrow, but he nodded and Brent disappeared with another quick smile.

Andrew waited the five minutes until he was supposed to go over to the classics section, idly browsing the shelves in front of him. He was definitely intrigued now. He had no idea what Brent wanted in the classics section, no one ever went there as far as Andrew was aware. And…oh that was probably what Brent was counting on.

When Andrew reached the corner where they had agreed to meet Brent was already waiting, acting rather badly at looking for a book.

Andrew had to chuckle and said, “Never go into acting.”

“Probably a good idea that I’m not planning to,” Brent agreed, turning towards him.

“So… the classics section?”

Brent shrugged. “No one ever comes here.”

“And what are we doing here?”

“Well,” Brent said, “there’s something I’ve been thinking about. Just…tell me if I’m overstepping any lines, okay?”

“Okay,” Andrew said.

Brent smiled and stepped closer, right into Andrew’s space. He hesitated, but by now Andrew had a fairly good idea of where this was going, and so he reached out to pull him in the rest of the way.

They both darted quick looks around and as soon as he was sure that there was no one close Brent took Andrew’s face in his hands and finally kissed him.

Andrew welcomed him eagerly. They shuffled around a bit, until Andrew was leaning with his back against the shelves, Brent slightly looming over him. Brent’s lips were soft against his, even as he kissed Andrew hungrily. Andrew gave back just as good. His hands were on Brent’s hips, holding him close. With the way Brent had him against the shelves and blocked out the rest of the library in any way possible it felt like Brent was Andrew’s whole world right now. His smell surrounded him, just the slightest hint of cologne, and there was just nothing but Brent to focus on. Hell there was nothing but Brent that Andrew _wanted_ to focus on.

Brent tilted his head a little and Andrew opened his lips eagerly to let him in. Brent tasted faintly like the coffee he drank while working, but mostly it was just Brent himself, and that was all Andrew was looking for. He was only too willing to chase after that.

 

When they finally came up for air, Brent rested his forehead against Andrew’s and smiled warmly.

“I’ve wanted to do that since Friday,” he admitted.

Andrew smiled as well. “Me too.”

Brent chuckled and one of his hands trailed down Andrew’s arm until he could take his hand and lace their fingers together.

“Come to mine later for dinner?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Andrew said, “I’ll be there.”

Brent gave him a brilliant smile in return, and after a quick look over Brent’s shoulder Andrew leaned up to press a quick kiss to his lips.

He could really get used to this.


	2. 5 Years Later

The last thing Brent expected when he finally got to wrap up his grading for the evening was a knock on his door. All of his friends knew that he was busy, so it was unlikely that any of them would try come over. The only one who might have come over anyways was Duncs, but Brent knew that he was busy with his own work so that option was out, too.

Intrigued he went and opened the door. Standing outside was none other than Andrew; Andrew who he hadn’t seen in almost five years. Or rather four years and 360 days. Not that he was counting. Andrew who he had fallen in love with and been in a relationship with despite the fact that he was a TA in one of Andrew’s classes and that it was all kinds of trouble waiting.

He hadn’t properly seen Andrew since he had broken up with him, shortly before he finished his undergrad. His hair was longer, and he had definitely matured a little. But Brent could see the laughter lines that had begun to appear around his eyes, and the old humour was still there. He wasn’t quite the Andrew Brent had known anymore, but Brent just knew that he hadn’t changed that much.

It had been five years, but Brent still yearned to touch him as if it had been yesterday.

 

All of that went through Brent’s head in the second between him opening the door and Andrew smiling at him (and that was still exactly the same as five years ago, Brent noticed) and saying, “Hey.”

Brent knew his face was probably betraying every emotion he felt at once, but he managed to smile back. “Hi,” he said.

“Can I come in?” Andrew looked a bit unsure now, and damn, he hadn’t even looked like that when he had come to Brent’s place the first time. He had always been sure of himself and of what they were doing, had always walked into Brent’s apartment like it was where he belonged, all consequences be damned.

Brent wanted to reach out and pull him inside and make sure he knew he still belonged here, but all he did was step aside and say, “Sure.”

Andrew walked in and Brent watched him look around the apartment, while he took ofrf his shoes. It hadn’t changed that much, Brent knew. The biggest change was probably that Brent had gotten new bookshelves at some point to accommodate his ever growing collection of books. He could see Andrew smile fondly at the shelves, and had to avert his eyes, because that smile struck him right in his heart.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked to break the silence.

Andrew nodded and smiled. “Can I get a beer, please?”

“Coming right up.” And Brent should maybe stop smiling like an idiot, but he couldn’t help himself.

 

Andrew followed him to the kitchenette, and once Brent had gotten him a bottle of beer from the fridge, they sat down at the kitchen table.

“So what have you been up to?” Brent asked, even though he probably knew most of it already. By the time they had broken up their friend circles had been close enough that Brent at least heard the most important news from Saader, even without prompting.

 Andrew shrugged. “I did my masters in Montreal and just got my PhD there as well. It wasn’t exactly the way I planned it, but it’s been good.”

“Any idea what you’re doing next?”

“I’m trying to figure that out. I can stay, but I’ve got an offer or two to consider before I decide.” Andrew watched Brent steadily as he spoke, and Brent got the feeling that this right now was very much part of the decision process.

“Any favourites yet?” Brent asked, trying to keep his hope off his face.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

They lapsed into silence. Andrew started picking at the label of his beer bottle, before he asked, “What I still haven’t figured out though is… why you broke up with me.”

He looked up and Brent had to swallow when he saw the pain in his eyes, still as fresh as it had been when Brent had ended things between them.

“Bowman found out,” he said. “And he told me he’d put in a good word for you at other universities, if I broke up with you. If I didn’t he threatened to make the whole thing public.” He took a deep breath, before he continued. “And I knew you’d want to fight if I told you, but as much as I wanted us both to fight, I couldn’t risk what it would have meant for your career.”

Andrew looked pained at his words. “Brent…”

It was just the one word, but it sounded broken enough to make Brent swallow.

“So you decided you’d rather have me hate you.”

Brent closed his eyes and nodded. “I know it’s a shitty excuse, but I thought I’d rather do this and give you a chance to make him regret that he wanted you gone. Even if you didn’t know it. And even if all I wanted to do was to say fuck it and ignore him and once you got far enough he wouldn’t have been able to leverage this anymore. But I was afraid that he’d actually do something and that the consequences would be much worse.”

Andrew sighed. “You know, I did hate you. I was glad when I got to go home that summer and didn’t see you everywhere anymore.”

“But..?” Brent knew he sounded a bit breathless, but there was nothing he could do about that.

“I realised that I couldn’t,” Andrew said with a grim smile. “I realised that whatever you had said and done I still loved you. And I was glad I got to go to Montreal, make a fresh start and do my work without having to see you everywhere. But it didn’t work.”

“I…what do you mean?”

“Come on, I know Saader has kept you updated.”

“Not on everything no.” Brent shook his head. “I asked him not to. Thinking about you finding someone else hurt too much.”

Andrew looked surprised at that. “So…all this time, you’ve thought that I’d be in Montreal, trying to find someone to replace you?”

“I hurt you. I thought you’d never want to have anything to do with me anymore, and that you’d try to find someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated.”

“And did you try to move on?”

Brent took a deep breath and he was proud of himself when he realised that his voice only shook a little when he said, “I couldn’t. And I ask myself every day where I would be if I had made a different decision.”

Andrew made a wounded sound at that, and before he could stop himself, Brent reached out and grasped his wrist.

“I would never want to miss out on what we had,” he said, seriously. “But I wish I had had the courage to tell you what was going on and to figure things out together. That’s my one regret.”

Andrew nodded, and when he brought up his hand to cover Brent’s, it was warm and sure.

“I know,” he replied. “I didn’t doubt that. It’s just… five years are a long time to beat yourself up about this.”

“As I said, I never managed to get over you.” Brent shrugged.

They were silent for a moment before Andrew asked, “So where does that leave us?”

Brent looked at him, holding his gaze.

“It’s your decision, because I fucked things up the last time I decided. But if you want me, I’m here,” he said.

And Andrew… Andrew smiled that brilliant, happy smile that Brent had always loved.

“Awesome,” he said.

Brent had to laugh. “Really, that’s all you’re going to say?”

“Let me have this moment. This isn’t what I expected to happen, I’m allowed to need a few minutes.”

And then Andrew moved his hand until he could lace their fingers together, and Brent couldn’t keep his grin off his face. The happiness inside him couldn’t be contained right now.

“I know we probably shouldn’t jump right back into things,” Brent said, swallowing down a small lump in his throat. “But if you want to you can stay the night.”

Andrew raised the hand that was still holding Brent’s and pressed a quick kiss to his knuckles.

“If you’ll have me, I will,” he said.

Brent could only smile at him happily.

 

The next morning Brent woke up with a smile on his face and an Andrew-shaped lump in his arms.

They had talked a lot the evening before, just to catch up on each other’s lives. They had talked so much they hadn’t even kissed properly. By the time they had gone to bed, Andrew had been so tired, Brent had just given him one of his old t-shirts, and they had quickly crawled into bed, where Andrew had nestled himself into Brent’s arms as if he had never been gone.

Brent buried his nose in Andrew’s hair now, just happy that he finally got to do this again.

 

He was abruptly woken from his reverie when someone knocked on the door of his apartment. Andrew grumbled a little in his sleep, but he was still dead to the world, and Brent was fine with keeping it that way, so he cautiously untangled himself from Andrew, who grumbled a bit more this time, but also just rolled into the warm spot Brent had left behind.

Brent smiled fondly at him, but then another knock reminded him that there was still someone at the door.

It turned out to be Duncs. He pushed past Brent and said, “You didn’t text back, so I thought I’d check up on you.”

Brent rolled his eyes. “Didn’t check my phone,” he said, following Duncs towards the kitchen. “Andrew came by.”

Duncs, who was just about to grab a mug from the cupboard so he could get coffee, turned around and studied Brent’s face. “Yeah?”

“You don’t seem surprised.” Brent raised an eyebrow.

“Saader mentioned he was coming.” Duncs shrugged, but he was still watching Brent.

“We talked. I explained things, he explained things, he stayed the night.”

Duncs nodded, as if he had somehow expected that, but before he could say anything the door to the bedroom opened and Andrew came out, hair still messy from sleeping, and still wearing Brent’s shirt.

“Good morning,” he said. “I thought I heard talking.”

He smiled at them, and when he came to his side, Brent easily slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him in.

Duncs watched them with a smirk. “I guess that answers any questions I had,” he said. “Congrats.”

Brent rolled his eyes at him, but Andrew said, “Thank you” and leaned a bit more into Brent, who smiled and squeezed his hip.

“Well, I guess you guys have some catching up to do,” Duncs said. “I’ll better leave you to it.”

 Brent let go of Andrew to give Duncs a quick one-armed hug.

“I’ll talk to you later,” he said, and Duncs nodded before giving Andrew a hug as well.

“It’s good to have you back, Mutt,” he said.

Andrew smiled. “It’s good to be back.”

“I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

 

When he had left Brent turned towards Andrew, hands resting on his hips and smiled down at him.

“So what’s the plan for today?”

“Well, I’ve got nowhere to be until Monday, and I don’t think Saader really expects me back before then, so we have all weekend.”

“And then? What’s the plan going forward?”

Andrew was about to reply when his stomach growled and they both started laughing.

“Let’s have breakfast first,” Brent suggested. “You said it yourself, we’ve got time.”

Andrew smiled, and they reluctantly let go of each other.

They took turns in the shower and got dressed, and then they headed out to the small diner around the corner that served a decent breakfast.

As they walked over it struck Brent how new this was for them. Five years before they would have stayed in for coffee and cereal, not willing to risk getting caught. But none of that mattered now, not anymore, and Brent enjoyed being able to take Andrew out to wherever he wanted to. But actually getting to do this with him, getting to sit in a booth in the corner, their legs entangled underneath the table, talking about everything but the future.

 

They held hands on the way back, while Andrew told stories about his friends in Montreal.

“They sound great,” Brent told him sincerely.

Andrew smiled. “I think you’ll like them.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

They had reached Brent’s apartment by then, and in silent agreement they changed back into something more comfortable and ended up at the kitchen table again, mugs of coffee between them.

“Remember how I said, I had a few offers?” Andrew asked, turning his mug in his hands.

“Yeah, you mentioned that. One is in Montreal, I assume.”

Andrew nodded. “It’s a good one as well. One of the others would bring me back here though.”

“Bowman?”

Andrew nodded.

And that Brent hadn’t expected. He was a little conflicted. He knew without thinking that he would love to have Andrew back. Hell, he was already starting to imagine Andrew making space for himself in Brent’s life again. Openly this time. But still…he didn’t trust Bowman not to fuck them over again. Though really, whatever Brent wanted was only marginally important here. This was Andrew’s decision to make, not his.

“What are you thinking?” Andrew asked gently, and Brent hadn’t even realised that he was spacing out.

He reached out and took Andrew’s hand. “You know having you here with me would be a dream come true,” he said. “But I can’t help but think that Bowman already helped fuck things up for us once, and I don’t know if I trust him not to do it again.”

Andrew nodded, but he gently squeezed Brent’s hand.

“I thought you might say that.” He took a deep breath. “But I also think that you don’t have to be afraid this time. He can’t stop us. We’d be colleagues this time, and he can’t do anything against colleagues being together. And if he attempts to, we’re in this together this time. No more putting one of us under pressure and us not talking about it.” Andrew paused and bit his lip. “Besides, as much pain as it caused, and as much as I want to hate him for it, he wasn’t wrong. We _were_ breaking the rules, and they’re rules that exist for a reason.”

Brent swallowed. He knew rationally that Andrew was right, emotionally it was just a little harder to accept.

“I know,” he said finally, “I just… I’m still having a hard time accepting that.”

“I know. It’s taken me a long time as well,” Andrew said with a soft smile. He got up, tugging Brent with him. “Come on, I think the kitchen table part of this conversation is done. Your couch is much more comfortable than these chairs.”

Brent laughed and followed easily.

 

When they had arranged themselves on the couch and Brent had his arms safely wrapped around Andrew, he smiled and said, “You’re amazing, you know?”

Andrew laughed. “’Course I am.”

“Yeah, I know. Just… you’re so rational about all of this.”

“I’ve thought about it a lot.” Andrew shrugged. “Even if I didn’t know about the whole thing where you were forced to break up with me, it helped a little to rationalise it. And it gave me hope to think that maybe there was still a chance.” He paused, and then he let out a short laugh. “I can’t even remember how often the Gallys decided to try to make me see reason just to be disappointed again.”

“You’ve always been stubborn like that.”

Andrew twisted in Brent’s arms until they could see each other’s faces. He smiled up at Brent, something soft and loving that Brent hadn’t thought he’d see again. It took his breath away, and it took him a second to register that Andrew had said something.

“Sorry, what was that?” he said, coming back to reality.

“I said that it got me you, didn’t it?” Andrew laughed a little at him, but there was so much fondness in it that it almost took Brent’s breath away again.

“Well it sure did,” he said, smiling back.

Andrew said nothing for a moment, he just watched Brent’s face, and when he finally leaned in Brent met him half-way.

 

He had thought he knew how much he missed kissing Andrew, but as soon as their lips met he realised that he hadn’t known at all. It was soft as first, but once they had gotten a taste of each other there was no going back. Andrew moved impossibly closer and Brent gripped his shoulders just to have something to hold on to. He felt like he was drowning in it, and he didn’t want to stop. Andrew’s lips were soft against his, and Brent could feel his fingers grip his shirt over his chest. And this right here, feeling Andrew’s lips on his, chasing his tongue into his mouth, his world narrowing down to Andrew and nothing else, this was what had been missing from his life, and there was no way he was giving it up again any time soon

 

When they finally had to come up for air again, Brent couldn’t help the stupidly happy grin on his face. Not that Andrew’s grin was any less ridiculous. Andrew leaned back in and pressed another kiss to Brent’s lips.

“I missed this,” he murmured afterwards, and this time Brent had to give him a quick kiss.

“Me, too,” he agreed.

Andrew only smiled and then Brent leaned back and pulled him along. Now that he got to do this again, he wasn’t going to stop.

 

Brent met up with Duncs on Monday. Andrew had been at his place all weekend, and despite the time they had spent apart, it had been really easy to fall back into being with each other again. It helped that they didn’t have to hide anymore. Brent enjoyed being able to take Andrew out for dinner without having to think about whether someone realised that they were closer than they were supposed to be.

 

Right now though he was having coffee with Duncs, while they waited for Andrew to get out of his meeting with Bowman. Andrew had gone back to Saader’s place the evening before, but not before promising to meet up at the coffee shop.

 

“So you guys really are doing things for real this time,” Duncs said.

Brent rolled his eyes at him. “We were doing things for real before. We just had to be cautious about it.”

“Okay, okay. Either way you’re back with each other and this time you can actually go out as a couple.”

“Yep.”

“And he’s decided to come back here.”

“Doing the interview with Bowman right now.”

Duncs smiled. “I’m happy for you, you know? You’ve never been fully happy without him. And don’t get me wrong, that was not a healthy situation, but it’s good to see you two back together again.”

“Thanks.” Brent returned the smile. “It’s gonna be good to have most guys back together.”

“It is,” Duncs agreed.

At that moment the door opened and Andrew walked in, wearing a suit for once, and Brent got kind of distracted by the way he looked in it, and maybe a little the fact that he could watch him openly and appreciate the way his boyfriend looked dressed up.

He came over to where they were sitting, bending down to press a quick welcome kiss to Brent’s lips before he said hello to Duncs, and sat down in the free chair.

“All done?” Brent asked.

“All done. And I actually got more out of him than he had offered before.”

“Yeah?” Brent pulled up an eyebrow and Andrew shrugged.

“I may have heavily implied that I know what he did and that I’m not going to take any shit from him this time around. I guess, it impressed him.”

Brent laughed and leaned in to give Andrew a quick kiss.

They were going to be fine this time.


End file.
